Train crash hurts none, shuts down line

-Some South Shore passengers abandon holiday plans before service is restored.

-Some South Shore passengers abandon holiday plans before service is restored.

September 03, 2006|PABLO ROS Tribune Staff Writer

An early morning train crash caused no injuries Saturday but shut down service along the South Shore Line for most of the day on an especially busy day. Service was shut down about 5:35 a.m. when a passenger train bound for Chicago from Michigan City collided with an eastbound freight train in The Pines, Ind., according to a spokesman for Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which owns and operates the South Shore Line. The six-car train was transporting nine passengers and three crew members. One passenger was taken to a nearby hospital with no visible injuries, said NICTD spokesman John Parsons. The lead passenger car sustained "significant damage," Parsons said. All passengers and crew members, who were scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 7 a.m., were taken back to Michigan City by motor vehicle. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, Parsons said. At the time of the crash, the freight train was on the main track, Parsons said. All signals were working properly. For some reason, Parsons said, the passenger train proceeded to the main track "even though it had a red signal." The 65-car freight train was transporting a variety of commodities, Parsons said. Crashes along the South Shore Line are rare, he said. A total of 12 east- and westbound trains were canceled Saturday. Normally, 21 trains operate on Saturdays, carrying 5,000 to 7,000 passengers. Because of a Jazz Festival in Chicago, Parsons said, more passengers were expected this weekend. Additional cars had been added to existing trains and two additional trains, one east- and one westbound, were scheduled to run. Thousands of passengers, including many area residents leaving from South Bend Regional Airport, were left waiting. The first South Shore train to run after the crash left South Bend for Chicago at 5:40 p.m. Parsons said the weekend schedule would return to normalcy after that. Meanwhile, at South Bend Regional Airport Saturday morning, many area residents were unsure of whether to wait for service or cancel their holiday plans. "I'm probably going to cancel my plans," said Nel Grissom of Mishawaka. She had baked cookies for her grandchildren in Michigan City and was supposed to spend the weekend there. Instead, Grissom said she would visit her neighbor instead. Phil Gibson of Fort Wayne and his family had planned to spend the day and the night in Chicago. They were scheduled to depart from South Bend at 7:40 a.m. "We were just going to shop and visit. It's a beautiful day," Gibson said. "We didn't want to fight the traffic." Later, when the 11:40 a.m. train was canceled, they decided to wait no longer and headed back to Fort Wayne. Alma Lloyd of South Bend was going back home to Gary to visit relatives. She said she uses the South Shore Line "a lot" and it has always been reliable. Mike Davis, 23, who was traveling to Chicago to visit his girlfriend, said his holiday plans might be ruined, but he wasn't too upset. "I can't get mad about that because it was a crash," he said.Staff writer Pablo Ros: pros@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6555